Kodiaks’ Malorie Hanson advances futsal coaching skills in Portugal

Earlier this month, Kodiaks women’s soccer and futsal student-athlete Malorie Hanson travelled to Portugal to participate and obtain the Portuguese Federation’s Level 1 Futsal Coaching Licence. This was part of the recent Futsal Canada-Canada Soccer partnership with Portuguese Football Federation. Hanson was just one of three women who were selected and took part in this program.

“I was really excited about this opportunity because I feel there is a severe lack of futsal programming in Canada and I would like to help promote the sport as much as I can,” says Hanson. “I also want to help female athletes have more opportunity and involvement in futsal, and I recognize that equipping myself with education and connections is an essential step in this.”

Hanson has always been interested in coaching, as both of her parents were soccer coaches. She remembers always wanting to help younger players develop throughout her playing career, but this year marked a significant push towards coaching.

This past year, Hanson battled an injury that ended her soccer season. She turned that hardship into an opportunity by transitioning to a student-coach for the futsal season. This was her first time coaching adults in a team format. Although the transition from athlete to coach was challenging, her friends and teammates made it easier and helped her gain confidence. Hanson helped coach the team to a silver medal at the 2024 ACAC Futsal Championships held in Three Hills, Alta.

“This course has been so educational and the extent of knowledge that has been imparted to us is extensive,” says Hanson. “We learned about the importance of sport psychology, technical and tactical aspects of futsal. I think that taking this course will not only help me become a more competent coach, but also a much better player, and I look forward to using the information that I learned in my own training in the future.”

Hanson has made a significant impact in her community back home in Yukon. She represented Yukon at the Arctic Winter Games for futsal in 2016 and competed in the first women’s futsal nationals in 2023. This year, due to her injury, she was given the opportunity to be involved with the team as an assistant coach. She intends to represent them as a player next year.

After completing her schooling, Hanson's goal is to help promote futsal back home in Yukon. Due to the territory's small population and long winters, futsal is a sport that should thrive because it’s played indoors and requires fewer players.

“As a female soccer and futsal player from the Yukon, I know how difficult it is to achieve excellence in a more isolated location with less access to competition and certain resources,” says Hanson. “It’s really important for me to try and help create opportunities for athletes to play futsal, with a focus on ensuring that females have enough access to high level training and competition so that they can pursue opportunities in the sport, if they so choose.”

Although Hanson hasn’t been coaching for long, she has a calm presence and enjoys teaching technical manoeuvres. Her father always emphasized the importance of developing good footwork and technical ability, something she has grown to value as a player.

“I love the technical ability and creativity that futsal requires and the rapid pace of the game,” says Hanson. “I think that it requires a specific skill set that is beneficial for players to develop whether they choose to pursue soccer or futsal and, therefore, can be played by all. I want to help young players enhance their footwork and encourage them to be innovative in their game. I think that my community in the Yukon can see great success in the sport if we develop grassroots programming now and I would love to get to be a part of that.”